Immediate License suspension saves lives.

From over in the Washington DC area from a personal injury blog there, I found this entry on a study that shows that when a driver's license is suspended right away, (that is as soon as he or she fails a breathalyser test) that this actually has an effect on other drivers.

So a regular guy fears immediate lose of a license, but does not fear lose of license only if convicted.

The fact that the lose is immediate is estimated to prevent drunk driving accidents and save at least 800 lives a year.  Wow.

Here's the abstract results section from the study.

Administrative or preconviction drivers license suspension policies have statistically significant and substantively important effects in reducing alcohol-related fatal crash involvement by 5%, representing at least 800 lives saved per year in the United States. Moreover, these laws have similar effects on drivers at all drinking levels—from lower-risk drivers below the legal alcohol limit to drivers at extreme levels of intoxication. In clear contrast, postconviction license suspension policies have no discernable effects.

Alcoholism:  Clinical and Experimental Research